You asked for it

Rebecca Morris of Nashville froze the salsa she made over the summer, but now that she is using it, she’s not pleased with the result. “It doesn’t even taste like the salsa I remember from just a few months ago. It is so watery and bland. Did I do something wrong?” she asks.Rebecca, freezing will change the texture of homemade salsa, as you have experienced. When thawed, it requires extra draining and typically more seasoning. You might want to consider using it in soups, stews and casseroles rather than as a fresh salsa. Next time, puree it until smooth and pour it into ice cube trays to freeze. That eliminates the lackluster consistency. Then use a couple of cubes to enhance fresh salsa from the deli during the off season.

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Some words are just fun to say. I put “noodles” in that category. It rolls off the tongue easily and almost commands a smile to accompany the pronunciation.

As kids, we thought that noodles were for us and pasta was for adults. I’ve heard cooks many times say that noodles are for soups and pasta for the plate. Technically, the difference is the addition of eggs or egg yolks to the flour and water mixture. We inherited the word from the German word “nudel” which means “paste with egg.”

Today, however, we label many items as “noodles,” even if they contain no eggs at all. Gone are the days when you could only find wide dried egg noodles on the market designed to be holders of beef stroganoff. Many noodles look like thin rods and, like pasta, can be the headline of your meal rather than play a secondary role.

The primary ingredient (all-purpose or durum wheat flour) can stray from the traditional as well, and could instead be rice, potatoes, soybeans and even sweet potatoes. “Using your noodle” suddenly has a whole new meaning.

Glass noodles, which sound so much better than their other name of cellophane noodles, are the equivalent of a noodle party. They have a rather translucent appearance when you purchase them dried, hence the name. They are made from the starch of either potatoes, mung beans or sometimes sweet green peas. You’ll often find them fried and shaped into crispy little nests.

With the exception of frying noodles, they are super quick to prepare, depending on the thickness. Fresh versions can cook in two minutes or less. Dried noodles will range from two minutes for those that are rail-thin to six minutes for sturdier egg noodles. If you have to hold the thicker egg noodles, quickly drain and keep them covered in the cooking pan. A tiny bit of butter or oil will keep them from sticking together.